I had a recently agreed to be part of a research project with the National Speakers Association of Australia. I was to be interviewed as a speaker to help them study trends in our world from my perspective. Little did I know that when I agreed to have this conversation with Geoff McDonald and Norman Chorn about "The Future of Speaking" that it helped me uncover something in my history that had seemed so disconnected before.
I have had a very diverse and interesting time transforming myself from one seemingly disconnected role to another: Royal Australian Air Force officer, dental surgeon, parent, leadership coach and facilitator. In my session with Geoff and Norman, I had a B.F.O - Blinding Flash of the Obvious.
It suddenly occurred to me that my whole life, I had been a highly anxious individual - trying to get over my vulnerability about not being good enough. I have described it in the YouTube video clip below:
So what I learnt from that event were manifold, including:
1. Our vulnerabilities can be our greatest gifts
2. From our vulnerabilities can come great drive and opportunities to grow
3. In giving generously I have begotten a great gift almost immediately
So what gifts are you hiding in not facing or embracing your vulnerabilities? Perhaps you too can give a seemingly one-way offer of no expectations of any return - and see what pleasant surprise shows up!